Gods and Demigods read the Lightening Thief - Rewrite
by StellaHunterOfArtemis
Summary: Hey there, this is a rewrite to my old story of the same name. You know what happens in this story, obviously. Enjoy! I don't own.
1. Prologue

**Hey folk from Fanfiction! This is a rewrite of my old story, 'Gods and Demigods read the Lightening Thief'. This story was written using a common curse but with an uncommon twist. For my fans who liked my other story, I hope you like this as much. I have learnt a lot like how to write better. So I hope you guys enjoy it! And just so you know, Future people are written same (like, Future Annabeth is Annabeth), while past will be known as "J" after their initial (like Past Annabeth will be called "AJ").**

**Prologue**

_**Third Person's POV**_

**PRESENT – THE BEACH, CAMP HALF-BLOOD:**

Jason, Piper and Leo stood on the beach, each thinking something different. Jason jealously wondered what Percy Jackson had done to deserve what all respect he got, Piper thought about the sadness Annabeth was going through with her boyfriend's disappearance, and Leo thought of how he could make the _Argo II_ better. They were so lost in their thoughts that they did not notice a daughter of Athena crying, sitting behind some trees some distance away, nor did they notice when she vanished. But they did notice it when it happened to them too.

**PRESENT – ARENA, CAMP HALF-BLOOD:**

Thalia, Nico, Will, Clarisse, Chris, Connor, Travis, Katie, Rachel and Grover stood in the arena, looking at Annabeth who was drying her tears as they continued to fall. Thalia's own tears fell, for this was one of the moments Thalia cried. One of her best friends and her favorite cousin had vanished, leaving his distraught girlfriend, Thalia's other best friend, crying in his wake.

Nico clutched Thalia's hand in a show of support. They had only recently started dating, to their fathers' chagrin. Nico had been increased in age, thanks to Lou-Ellen, the head counselor of Hecate. Nico felt disappointed in himself that he could not tell Percy's best friends that he knew where their support was.

Grover also stood, his expression sad. Percy and Annabeth had been his only support, the two people who had always believed in him, and now one was gone, and one was in no position to support herself, much less somebody else.

The others all felt the same emotions. Sadness that Percy had gone, even more sadness that Annabeth was distraught and in Clarisse's case, the loss of the only person who could beat her in combat. They wanted to meet Percy soon.

Before they realized something happened to Annabeth, they too vanished.

**PRESENT – RIVER TIBER, CAMP JUPITER:**

Frank, Hazel and Reyna stood near the banks of the River Tiber, discussing the war they had won the last evening against Polybotes. Praetor Percy was still surrounded by people who wanted to congratulate him. Reyna was talking to the Fifth Cohort residents about their new position, but just as she was concluding the discussion, they all vanished in a flash of golden light. Percy, who had just been coming towards them, got caught in the crossfire.

**PAST – THE GODS' THRONE ROOM**

As usual, the gods were assembled for the Winter Solstice. But most unusually, all of them were quiet for once. Zeus' face was white as he awaited the demigods' who were visiting as their field trip. His actions were understandable, though. He had been forced to turn his daughter into a tree just few months ago.

Now, Zeus might have been a player, but he, after all, was a human and had the ability to love (unlike Voldemort). He loved his many children dearly.

Hera, of course, was pleased to say the least, more than anybody on the council. The world had gotten rid of another one of her husband's unfaithful children, after all. She loved her husband dearly, and did not like it when he cheated on her so often and so many times. He broke the oath twice; once with Thalia, once with Jason, that too from the same woman. This caught Hera hard on the face. She was afraid that Zeus might replace with the woman, Grace; Hera believed her name to be, with her. It scared her, which was why she drove the woman to drugs. She planned to have her killed in the next few years.

Athena looked at her father and stepmother calculatingly. She knew what awaited the fate of the daughter of Zeus; the way her father had saved her was not foolproof. The tree would eventually age and die, though it would live for another hundred years.

Hestia sat at her fire, looking at the young demigod she had been observing for some days, her heart clenching as she saw the man strike him on the head, his sea-green eyes filling with tears.

The other gods, including Hades, respecting Zeus' need for grieving, stayed quiet. There was an unspoken agreement between them that they would start the meeting as soon s the half-bloods arrived.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared on the ceiling of the room just as the door to the throne room opened. Eleven people tumbled from the ceiling just as demigods came in the room. They stopped to see a tangle of bodies floating on the air, but one continuing to fall. Blonde flew out from it's bun, a set of eyes – stormy grey – widened with fear as she let out fearsome screams…

And she stopped.

A mix of fire and water swirled around the body, lowering it gently on the ground. She stood shivering once she reached the ground. The others, who reached before were running to the girl, but some stood there, looking confused, while everyone else were looking towards Poseidon and Hestia, who had their arms raised to save the girl who fell, and Zeus, who also had his arms raised; he did not want another death on his conscience after what happened to Thalia Grace. The saviors had all had noticed some similarities to they people they saved; be it someone they wanted to save, or someone who looked like their children.

'Annabeth!' screamed a girl with spiky jet-black hair and electric blue eyes. A little girl who was in the demigod group that just entered felt her stormy grey eyes widen as everyone else in the group turned to stare at her. Annabeth felt surprised; who was that girl who almost plummeted to her death, and why did she resemble her? Annabeth felt a thirst enter her as she yearned to know whom the girl was.

'It's okay, Thalia, I'm fine,' the girl, Annabeth, tried to convince the girl who ran to him that he and the other girl were okay. The other people in the room, whom this group seemed oblivious to, felt all their eyes widen. Was – was this girl _the_ Thalia? Thalia Grace?

Suddenly a girl from the oblivious group noticed the other people in the room. She nudged the other people in her group to inform of their company as they turned to stare at the gods.

She had choppy chocolate-brown hair that she tied in a braid with an eagle feather. Her kaleidoscopic eyes shimmered against her Cherokee skin tone. She wore simple jean-shorts that showed off her long legs, and sneakers. A snowboarding jacket hid her light tank top that looked scribbled on. On her belt hung a dagger which looked remarkably like Katoptris. She was beautiful, but it looked like she tried to play down her beauty.

The girl with black hair and electric blue eyes raised her hand gave a small wave, and said, 'Hi.'

'Thalia!' the little girl screamed, then flung herself into the older girl's arms. The girl just raised her eyebrows and looked to the only blonde girl in her group, as if to say, "_Um, what just happened?_"

'Who are you?' Zeus' voice boomed. He was shaking, his master bolt in his had, his face pale but hard. Any person who tried to impersonate his daughter deserved to be blown into pieces.

No more was said because a box suddenly fell into Hestia's fire, causing her to jump and the fire to splutter chaotically. Hestia slowly reached out and grabbed the box and took out an envelope, which was wedged in the box. She removed the note and looked at the people watching her. Smiling weakly, she read the note.

_Dear people assembled,_

_We have brought you here to read a few books. These revolve around a hero, a Hero of Olympus. This demigod is present in this room. To read these books, we have also sent few people from the future; eleven, to be exact. You may know some of the demigods; you may not know some others. And we have also decided to place a curse on these books. _Every single thing_, which happens to the main hero in the books, will happen to the one in the room. Also, you will be shown some of the more gruesome scenes, like the hero and the Minotaur. We hope you will use this to the good. Best of luck in changing the future._

_Yours truly,_

_The Fates_

_PS – You have to say your parents' names and your main titles._

A boy in the group of past demigods smirked. He was sure he was the "hero" the letter had mentioned. He had sandy-blonde hair and baby-blue eyes. He was tall and muscular for a fourteen year old, and wore jeans and an orange Camp T-shirt. But this handsome boy's hopes were dashed when Hestia removed the books and read out the main character's name, the title of the book. 'These books are of a boy named "Percy Jackson", and the second series reads "Heroes of Olympus".'

'Introduce yourselves, demigods, be you from the past or future,' Zeus ordered, an inkling of hope spreading across him as he saw the girl Thalia, who the little blonde girl was still clutching.

The blonde girl came forward and said, ignoring the gasps around her and the thunderstruck look on her younger counterpart's face as she recognized herself, 'Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, Hero of Olympus, Architect of Olympus, one of the Seven, surrogate Camp Half-Blood Leader, girlfriend of Perseus "Percy" Jackson.'

Annabeth's curly blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun and her stormy grey eyes looked a bit like a cornered animal's. She wore faded blue jeans and an orange form-fitting Camp tank top. In her hands was a laptop bag. Her face was crumpled as she tried to stop the tears that still continued to fall as she named her missing boyfriend. She wore her dagger on her belt. Poseidon looked shocked that his enemy's daughter was dating his son, and scared that his secret son would come out in the open.

The young blonde looked thrown. The next person came forward, a girl who everyone was calling Thalia.

'Hey, I'm Thalia, I don't use my surname, daughter of Zeus, Hero of Olympus, girlfriend of Nico di Angelo,' she said, and the boy who had believed himself to be the "hero" came forward and said, 'Thalia, I – I'm sorry that you – you had to die.'

Thalia gave him a pained look and turned away, intertwining her hands with Nico's. Luke was wishing that it could be him who would date her.

Thalia's spiky black hair was grown and pulled into a ponytail, and the black eyeliner she wore highlighted her electric-blue eyes. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top, which read, "I'M NOT PUNK, I JUST LIKE BLACK". On her hand was Aegis, disguised as her bracelet. On her back were her bow and arrows.

A boy with dark brown hair and black eyes came forward and said, 'I'm Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, Hero of Olympus, Ghost King, boyfriend of Thalia.'

The blonde boy threw a glare at him, which he easily ignored. Nico wore black jeans and a plain dark green T-shirt, on top of which he wore his black leather jacket. His Stygian Iron sword was in his hand; he had drawn it the moment the light had appeared.

Zeus shot to his feet and yelled at Hades, 'I had told you to kill this brat! Why can't you listen to orders? You will be –'

'Zeus!' Poseidon shouted, standing up too. 'Would you kill any child of yours if it were to come to that? Would you? No! Then you have no right to shout at Hades! Sit back down and show us some of the dignity you are always so keen on displaying!'

Zeus slouched back on his seat as Hades sent a thankful smile in Poseidon's direction, who gave a grunt in response.

Next came a guy – no, satyr – who was only wearing his Camp T-shirt. His furry legs were well groomed and his hooves were polished. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He had a club carved from wood strapped to his back.

'I am Grover Underwood, satyr, Lord of the Wild, Hero of Olympus, boyfriend of Juniper.'

'You!' Zeus shot to his feet for the second time and pointed his master bolt at Grover, whose confidence suddenly waned as he cowered. 'You let my daughter die! How dare you be alive?'

Thalia stormed in front and shouted, 'DAD! It was my own choice! Grover had no say in the matter whatsoever! You have no right to scream at him! Sit back down!'

Zeus' anger flowed out of him and he sat back down. Hera marveled how he listened to his daughter so readily.

Next came a boy who had messy blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a Camp T-shirt and blue jeans, and had a bow and arrows slung on his back.'Will Solace, son of Apollo, Hero of Olympus, boyfriend of Nyssa.'

A buff girl, dressed in cargo pants and a Camp T-shirt with a jacket, a a spear strapped to her back, came forward. She had long brown hair in a braid and blue eyes, and she said, 'Clarisse la Rue, daughter of Ares, Drakon Slayer, Hero of Olympus, girlfriend of Chris Rodriguez.'

The younger her blushed brightly while the next person came forward. He wore jeans and a Camp T-shirt, and held a sword. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He said, 'Chris Rodriguez, son of Hermes, Hero of Olympus, boyfriend of Clarisse la Rue.'

Two boys, identical to each other came forward and said, 'We are Connor and Travis Stool, sons of Hermes, Heroes of Olympus, and I/ Travis am/is dating Katie Gardner.'

The younger Katie and Travis blushed. Connor and Travis were dressed the same as Chris, and their features resembled each other's too, only they didn't have swords. The next girl came forward. She had long brown hair which she held in a bun and grass-green eyes. She introduced herself as Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter, Hero of Olympus, girlfriend of Travis Stoll.

Another girl came forward. She had bright, frizzy red hair, brilliant green eyes and she wore a Camp T-shirt and jeans, both of which were scribbled and painted said, 'Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Oracle of Delphi, Hero of Olympus.'

'Yes! My Oracle got a new body!' Apollo pumped his fist in the air. Rachel smiled at him.

The next girl was the girl who alerted the demigods of her time to their presence. 'I'm Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, one of the Seven, Charmspeaker, girlfriend of Jason Grace.'

Aphrodite smiled at her daughter as the next boy said, 'I'm Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, one of the Seven, Fire User.'

Leo had messy black hair and mischievous blue eyes. He wore a greasy Camp T-shirt, cargo pants, and a wraparound tool-belt. He was fiddling with some screws and bolts. Next to come forward was a boy with sandy blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. He had a small scar on his upper lip, and he wore faded blue jeans and an orange Camp T-shirt. His Imperial Gold sword hung on his belt.

'I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, one of the Seven, Defeater of Krios, Praetor of Camp Jupiter, and according to my hope, Leader of Camp Half-Blood, boyfriend of Piper McLean,' he said proudly.

The gods gasped as one. 'What is a Roman doing with Greeks?' Athena said, thinking fast of different scenarios as Hera and Zeus flickered to their Roman forms and back. Jason shrugged while the next girl stepped forward, and said, 'He's not the only Roman, and it's a long story.' But before she said anything else, she turned to Jason and said, 'Not now, you aren't Praetor.'

Annabeth turned to him too and said, 'Nobody can replace Percy as Camp Leader.'

Ignoring his crestfallen expression, the first girl turned to the gods and said, 'I'm Reyna, daughter of Bellona, Praetor of Camp Jupiter.'

Reyna had long, dark hair and piercing obsidian eyes. She wore a white toga and a purple cloak. Multiple badges were pinned to her chest. An Imperial Gold sword hung from her belt.

The next and last girl came forward leaving only two boys behind. This girl wore dark jeans and a purple T-shirt. Her skin was cocoa in color, and she had long, curly dark hair and golden eyes. A _spatha_ hung from her belt.

'Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, one of the Seven, defeater of Alcyoneus, girlfriend of Frank Zhang,' she said.

Before anyone could say anything else, Hades, flickering to Pluto and back, shouted, 'But you're dead!'

Everyone in the room went still.

'It's a long story,' Hazel muttered in embarrassment. Seeing her uncomfortable, everyone went back to the introductions.

The next boy came forward. He was muscular, but his face didn't match his physique. It looked like a baby's; he looked like a baby who'd taken extensive training and joined the army. He wore a purple toga, with badges pinned to his chest too, but far lesser than Reyna. He had a spear strapped to his back and also, oddly enough, a set of bow and arrows.

'I'm Frank Zhang, son of Mars, one of the Seven, Centurion of Fifth Cohort, boyfriend of Hazel Levesque.'

Ares' form flickered, changing to Mars', before turning back to Ares and giving Frank a small smile. Everyone was shocked to see Ares actually smile, but they passed it off as a heat stroke, as he had been practicing a lot today, and Apollo was shining the sun quite brightly.

The last boy came forward, one that almost everyone had not noticed, as they were concentrating on the person introducing, and he was half-hidden in shadows. He not came forward, his tan skin stretched over his bulging muscles. He wore a white toga with a purple cloak too, the same as Reyna; the symbol of the Praetor. He had windswept jet-black hair and calm, twinkling sea-green eyes. He too had quite some badges on his broad chest; lesser than Reyna's but far more than Frank's. He, like the other Romans, had a tattoo on his left forearm, which made the gods believe that he was a Roman. But when he spoke, they had the shock of their life.

'Perseus Jackson, better known as Percy, son of Poseidon, Hero of Olympus, Defeater of Kronos, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Atlas, one of the Seven, Praetor of Camp Jupiter, Leader of Camp Half-Blood, boyfriend of Annabeth Chase.'

'Percy!' Thalia shouted, running to him and jumping into his arms. All the other Campers of Camp Half-Blood let out strangled yells and surrounded him, all except Jason, Piper and Leo. Because they didn't know him, they did not surround him, but just looked on at the scene; Jason with jealousy, Piper and Leo with awe. All of them had heard he was popular, but they didn't know to what extent until they saw the scene in front of them.

Jason had expected that the people from Camp Jupiter would surround him too, but they were just gazing at the scene Percy had created with large smiles on their faces. It was like Jason did not exist, and being the son of Jupiter, he did not like that. He also didn't like the fact that Percy had become the Praetor in his stead.

Annabeth, meanwhile, had managed to fight through the crowd surrounding Percy and throw her arms around him. The other Campers, understanding, immediately made space for the couple. Annabeth looked up and then kissed him.

The gods, who had been shell-shocked at Percy's introduction, had not reacted until Annabeth kissed him. Poseidon and Athena broke out of their stupor and shouted together, 'My daughter/son cannot be dating Barnacle Beard's son/Owl Head's daughter!'

Aphrodite, of course, was mentally patting her back for a match well made, while the other gods watched the scene in amusement, further shocked. I mean, who expects two enemies' kids to start dating? That sort of a scenario only happened in _Romeo and Juliet_.

The past kids, as expected, turned to face a blushing Annabeth. _She_ was going to do _that_ in less than a decade!

'We missed you a lot, Kelp Head!' Thalia hugged her almost-brother hard. Then she pulled out and glared at him through her tears. 'And don't you dare pull that stunt on us again!'

'Yes, ma'am,' he laughed and smiled.

When everyone went on, Nico hesitantly stepped forward. Percy's smile slid off his face as he glared at Nico, who gulped. The Olympians did too; how could a boy have such a scary and ferocious glare?

The Camp Half-Blood Campers had shaken it off at first, but they too got angry at Nico when Percy's words slid off his tongue much how his smile had slid off his face.

'Why didn't you tell me where I was from? Why couldn't you tell the Campers that I was safe?' he said, his face contorted with anger, his muscles stiff, power pulsating through his eyes. He wasn't angry that Nico didn't tell him anything. He was more angry that Nico di Angelo couldn't care less to inform the Camp of his whereabouts.

Annabeth rounded on Nico. 'You knew?' she shrieked, looking quite deranged. Nico shrunk away from her, looking scared. Never before had anyone seen Annabeth so furious. 'You knew where he was and you never cared to tell us? You knew what was my condition after he disappeared! You knew that even the slightest news concerning his safety and well-being would put my mind to rest! I HATE YOU!'

Annabeth broke down into tears, and Percy wrapped his arms around her, throwing another glare in an ashamed Nico's direction. Thalia stormed forward and glared at her boyfriend. 'I am not speaking to you at all until I see fit.'

The others nodded except Hazel. 'I'll talk to him. He's my brother. What kind of a sister would I be if I abandon my brother?'

Nico shot a grateful smile at her, and Percy, who seemed to recover from his anger, said, 'I am not much inclined to talk to you, but I will, to prevent you from being isolated.'

When the Camp Half-Blood people settled down, Zeus waved on for the past demigods to introduce themselves.

First came Annabeth, who was dressed in much the same way as her future self, except she didn't have a laptop bag, she wore a T-shirt, and her hair was in a ponytail.

'Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena.'

Next came a girl who had long black hair, left open, and bright blue eyes. She wore an outfit similar to Future Annabeth's. 'Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite.'

Next came a boy who wore a Camp T-shirt and dark jeans. 'I'm Charles Beckendorf, though everyone calls me Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus.'

Clarisse's younger counterpart came forward. 'Clarisse la Rue, daughter of Ares.'

The boy who had believed himself to be the "hero", came forward and said, 'Luke Castellan, son of Hermes.'

The future Campers from Camp Half-Blood's heads snapped up and they looked at Luke with hatred. The gods were surprised with this, but let it pass. Luke was too, but he realized that they would know of his switch in loyalties.

Two more boys, twins, came forward and in unison, said, 'We are Connor and Travis Stoll, sons of Hermes.'

They were dressed exactly as their older counterparts. The future Camp Half-Blood kids, except their older selves and Katie, smiled rather mischievously when they heard their names, but refrained to say anything. Another boy came forward and said, 'Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo.'

Lee looked almost exactly like Will. Sadness overcame the mischievous looks which were recently covering the future Camp Half-Blood faces. The last person, Katie, came forward. She wore a green top which matched her eyes and read "SAVE THE PLANET" with an Earth made below, half full of greenery and water, half bare and desert-like, with light jeans.

'I'm Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter,' she said. The mischievous looks returned full-force on the future Campers of Camp Half-Blood's faces, again minus the above mentioned people. Annabeth then came forward and picked up the book which rested on the top in the box.

'_Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief_,' she read the title and looked at Percy and Grover with horror. Zeus, not noticing, boomed, 'Let's read the first chapter then.'

'I'll read,' Athena volunteered. Annabeth passed her past mother the book, who opened the first chapter and started to read.

**Phew! This is the longest chapter I have ever written! It lasted eight pages, anyways, so I hope you liked it. Sorry for the long wait, BTW!**

**Yours truly,**

**Stella**


	2. I Vaporize My Teacher

**Guys, I love you all! I got so many reviews and all sorts of emails; I decided to send this chapter up as soon as possible. So here it is! And, a little tip: if you respond to this chapter as enthusiastically as the last one, you can be rest assured that the next chapter will make it's way up tomorrow.**

**I also wanted to give a shout out to some people.**

**To ****Guest (unknown)**** – I have, actually, planned to do exactly how you mentioned in your review. Don't worry, no sexual abuse. I agree, no one deserves that. No Pothena, it's just weird. And personally, I think it will help Percy if he could go through all that again. It will help him recover and make him a stronger person.**

**To ****Perseus Jackson Rules**** – Thank you so much. And I have improved and added some stuff to the prologue, which shows how they reacted. And of course, not to mention, Little Percy and future children will come, and maybe even Tartarus Percy and Annabeth.**

**I would also like to thank all those people who reviewed, favorited and follow this story, and those who favorited and follow me. Love you all!**

**PS – Sorry guys, this chapter was supposed to go up a week ago, according to my planning, but it has been really hectic. My brother just shifted to Dubai, and just so you know, I almost had this chapter complete, just tiny things here and there were left. So you needn't worry. The next chapter comes up day after, I promise!**

_**Third Person's POV**_

'**Chapter 1: I Accidently Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher**,' Athena read out.

Apollo and Hermes cried, '_Accidentally?_', while all the people from the future except Jason, Piper and Leo looked at Percy incredulously.

'Percy, whatever you do, you don't do anything _accidentally_,' Annabeth said, rolling her eyes, while Piper and Leo started laughing.

**Look, I didn't want to be half-blood.**

The demigods nodded, all traces of humor gone, while the gods looked down guiltily.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

**Being a half-blood is dangerous.**

'Check,' Nico said.

**It's scary.**

'Check,' Thalia spoke up.

**Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

'And, check,' Percy sighed, rubbing his forehead. The gods' expression turned even guiltier.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think its fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

'I know, right?' Katie said her expression sad. The other demigods nodded while Travis wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages —if you feel something stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before **_**they **_**sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

'You didn't warn me!' Travis, Connor, TJ and CJ exclaimed.

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

'No, you're Athena,' Apollo and Hermes snickered, while the other demigods except both Annabeths (whose mother was being talked to) and the Romans (who didn't want to get zapped) burst out laughing.

**I'm twelve years old.** **Until a **_**few **_**months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.** **Am I a troubled kid?**

'Yup.' Grover and the future demigods, sans Percy, said. Percy pouted.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

'See, even you agree.' Nico chuckled.

**I could start at any point in my short, miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

'It sounds like torture.' stated Poseidon.

**I know—it sounds like torture.**

The throne room was filled with laughter.

'Like father, like son,' Hermes gasped while Annabeth looked at her boyfriend disapprovingly.

**Most Yancy field trips were.**

'That's just sad,' Silena sighed.

**But Mr. Brunner, out Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

'Isn't that –' Annabeth said, looking at her boyfriend who nodded.

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee.**

'Chiron?' Hera asked. Percy nodded, while Chiron blushed at his being so gullible. **(AN – I don't think I mentioned it, but Chiron's here.)**

**You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

'Is that a compliment?' Chiron asked Percy. Annabeth answered for him, 'Yes, because he sleeps a lot in class.'

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

'Percy, you wear a headband on your head which says "I am a magnet for trouble",' Thalia said, no trace of jokes. Poseidon gulped and paled at this.

**Boy, was I wrong.**

'When are you right?' Grover joked.

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.** **And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim.**

'Epic!' yelled the more immature gods (Apollo and Hermes), and most of the male demigods (except Jason) while Artemis and the female demigods rolled their eyes. _Boys…_

**And the time before that… Well, you get the idea.**

**This trip, I was determined to be good.**

'Percy? Good? Impossible.' Thalia joked.

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

All the demigods (and an Oracle, who happened to be a mortal) who were close to Grover (Thalia, Nico, Percy, Annabeth and Rachel) let out noises of outrage.

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled.**

'Thanks for the vote of confidence, Perce.' Grover said sarcastically.

**He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

'Way to blow your cover, Goat Boy!' Nico said.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation.**

**The headmaster had threatened me with death **

'What?' yelled Poseidon.

**by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

'Oh.' he said sheepishly.

"**I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

'Yes! Action!' Ares yelled, pumping his fist in the air as his daughters did the same.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

'Not on your clothes, I'm sure,' Piper said.

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

"**That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

'Why did you stop him?' CJ whined as Ares nodded fast. Percy, Nico and Grover snickered to see Clarisse actually _whining_ while her older self looked mortified. CJ whipped her head to them and growled, 'You got a problem with that, punk?', with Clarisse backing her up.

Nico and Grover stopped and shrunk into their seats while Percy continued laughing. To prevent a scene taking place, Athena hastily continued reading.

"**You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

'It's always you who gets blamed, Percy,' Annabeth said, snuggling into his arms. AJ still couldn't believe that she was dating a son of Poseidon.

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there.** **In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

Poseidon started chewing his nails.

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.** **He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

Annabeth looked bored (she'd been in there a few times, and it had become really dull) while AJ was raptly listened to the descriptions.

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

'Longer,' said Athena. Percy laughed.

'What?' Athena asked.

'You just admitted being old!' Percy gasped, and most of the demigods (be it past or future, except Jason and Luke) joined in the laughter.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a **_**stele**_**, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting,** **but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

Percy looked murderously at the wall.

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

Nico and Hades wondered why she seemed familiar.

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was a devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.** **One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

'Way to blow your cover, Goat Boy!' Nico said again.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the **_**stele**_**, **

'She so wished it was you!' Grover muttered to himself, but not quietly enough for Percy to not hear.

'What?' Percy said, turning a little green.

'Don't you know?' Grover asked, turning to Percy. 'Almost all the girls there had a huge crush on you! I could read their feelings. It was gross!'

'Read, Mom!' Annabeth said, throwing a glare in Grover's direction, and rubbing Percy's back as he tried not to be sick.

**and I turned around and said, "Will you **_**shut up**_**?"**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

'Of course it did.' said Athena, rolling her eyes.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

"**Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

Will gasped. 'Percy Jackson actually used his manners?' he said over-dramatically. The demigods and satyr (sans Percy) all responded with gales of laughter, though Luke and Jason's were a tad cruel.

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

'Ha! Percy and recognizing something, big joke!' Nico laughed. Percy, who recovered, turned to him and stuck out his tongue.

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

Poseidon, Demeter, Hades, Hestia and Hera groaned. 'It had to be that one, didn't it.' Demeter grumbled while Zeus smirked.

'Stop smirking, Momma's Boy!' Poseidon snapped at him, and his smirk slid right off his face as everyone except his demigod children burst into laughter.

"**Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied.**

"**And he **_**did **_**this because…"**

"**Well…" I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"**

'God?' Zeus boomed. 'How dare you insult us!'

'I'll be corrected.' Percy said nonchalantly.

"**God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

'See?'

"**Titan," I corrected myself. "And… he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead.**

'Momma's Boy,' Poseidon coughed, and the throne room dissolved into laughter once more (again, except Thalia and Jason, though a smile was tugging on Thalia's lips).

**And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"**

"**Eew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

'Eew, indeed,' all the goddesses muttered.

"—**and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

**Some snickers from the group.**

'Why? He answered right,' Athena said, confused.

'Don't ask me, mortals are weird,' Hermes shrugged as the other gods nodded.

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

"**And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Busted," Nico muttered.

"**Busted," Grover muttered.**

'You think like a goat, Death Breath!' Percy laughed, along with two certain immature gods and all other demigods except Jason and Luke.

"**Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

'And that's a dark red, almost purple, folks,' Percy nodded to all the occupants in the room gravely.

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

'When do you ever?' Annabeth asked, pecking Percy's lips as he pouted.

"**I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half-credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

'How is that a happy note?' asked Hera.

Thalia just shrugged. 'That's Chiron.'

Chiron blushed.

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

'They are doofuses,' Artemis muttered.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

'Are you an Oracle?' Nico asked, gasping dramatically.

'What's an Oracle?' Hazel asked, looking confused. Frank and Reyna looked bewildered too.

'It's like an augur,' Percy explained. 'They can look into the future.'

'Hello, Mr I'm-Pretending-To-Know-It-All,' Rachel said in an annoyed voice. 'I'm still here, I can explain what I am, thanks.'

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

'You're very observant,' Athena said.

'Thank you,' Percy said in shock. This was the first time Athena praised him.

"**You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

"**About the Titans?"**

"**About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

"**Oh."**

'That's all you can say? "Oh?"' Annabeth asked in an exasperated tone. Percy shrugged.

"**What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

'Because he is your guide, Seaweed Brain,' Annabeth explained patiently. Thalia leaned over to Nico and said, 'I still don't know how she's so patient with him.' Nico snorted, slightly (actually, hugely) relieved. It seemed like Thalia was talking to him again.

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever **_**lived**_**, and their mother, and what god they worshiped.**

'That is so cool! I want Chiron to teach me!' Apollo and Hermes yelled.

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life. No—he didn't expect me to be **_**as good;**_** he expected me to be **_**better. **_**And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

Annabeth patted her boyfriend's back in sympathy.

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the **_**stele**_**, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

'He probably had.' Annabeth stated. Chiron nodded sadly. 'Madeline had been a good student,' he recalled sadly.

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

'That's boring,' Travis said, his twins, and younger counterpart nodding.

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York State had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

Hades groaned. 'What are you fighting about _now_?' he asked his younger brothers. They shrugged.

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from **_**that **_**school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

"**Detention?" Grover asked.**

"**Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

'_That_ is obvious.' Grover and the future demigods, sans Percy, Piper and Leo said. Percy pouted.

Jason went further to say, 'Please, I would be surprised to see if you even had a brain!'

All of Percy's friends (which were everyone except Piper and Leo) threw him glares, even his own sister. Thalia stood up to argue, but Percy pulled her down and said to him, 'Okay, if you think you're so great, I want to have a match with you the next break. The least it would do is bring you down a peg or two.

Jason was very jealous. He loved his sister but he was jealous of the bond she shared with Percy. He hated him even more now.

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

'So Grover,' Percy chuckled, as the rest of the room laughed and watched Grover blush.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

Percy was frightened, knowing what was coming; not of the actual event, but how everyone else would react.

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home.** **She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

'Aww!' the female population cooed.

'Why can't you be like that?' Hera added to her sons. They rolled their eyes as Nico snickered, 'Momma's Boy,' mock-whispering to all the demigods. Jason and Luke joined in the laughter, albeit cruelly.

'Oh please, Nico,' Percy snapped at him. 'It's not like you're not an "Aunt Sally's Boy" either.'

That shut him up.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized café table.**

Hephaestus grinned and started copying the idea in his notebook. Aphrodite smiled at him, making Ares scowl. Aphrodite and Hephaestus had started to reconcile after Aphrodite dumped Ares.

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

All demigods, except Jason and Luke, growled with anger as Grover blushed profusely.

"**Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid cheetos. I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

Hades and Zeus sent suspicious looks to Poseidon.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

"—**the water—"**

"—**like it grabbed her—"**

'You broke the oath!' Zeus shouted, standing up while his bolt appeared in his hand, realizing for the first time whose child Percy was. It sunk in now, that is.

Poseidon held up his hands and said, 'You did so first, brother. Let us finish.'

Zeus sat down reluctantly.

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

'I stand by my previous statement,' Thalia said, and Poseidon once more paled and gulped.

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester.**

"**Now, honey—"**

"**I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

'Never guess your punishment.' Hermes lectured Percy.

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"**Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

"**Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. **_**I **_**pushed her."**

'You're brave, young satyr,' Artemis complimented. Grover blushed.

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

'_Literally_ to death,' Percy emphasized. All the people who didn't know of the event (all demigods except the Jealous two [I think you all know who that is], Oracle and satyr, because Grover only knew hazy details) grew blanched and gulped.

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

"**I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

"**But—"**

"**You—**_**will**_**—stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

"**It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

"**Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "**_**Now**_**."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

'It's just too scary, man, scarier than Ares' you know?' Nico said. Percy smirked.

'Oh, is it?' Ares gave his stare, and Nico didn't flinch.

'Yep, definitely scarier.' Nico nodded. The gods were surprised as Chris continued, 'Hades yeah, I think you might be the only person Percy who has different glares.'

'Show me your stare, then, punk,' Ares challenged. Percy turned and gave him his deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare, out of pure annoyance. Ares quaked under the glare he was getting directed by. The other gods did too, and they weren't even full force under the glare.

'Yeah, man, you're about the only person who has different sorts of glares,' Will said.

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

'She's a monster!' Thalia yelped, clutching Percy's arm. She was terribly afraid that her brother would be fighting a monster without any training _or_ weapon.

**How'd she get there so fast?**

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

'Don't be too sure,' Athena warned.

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

'You idiot! Why did you do that?' Thalia rounded on Percy, who gave her a weak smile.

'I didn't know monsters or Greek Gods existed at the time, Thalia,' Percy replied. Thalia huffed and turned back to the book.

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

'Damn it, Chiron!' Poseidon yelled.

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

'It never is,' Annabeth sighed, afraid.

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

'Great, no witnesses,' Nico groaned.

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.** **Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it…**

'I bet she did,' Hades said, gulping. He was positive which monster Mrs Dodds was.

"**You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

'You, and safe thing? Impossible,' Thalia said, trying to get the tension away. Percy gave her the death glare, and she flinched slightly.

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

'It would be, she's a monster,' Hermes said nervously. Both he and Apollo had grown fond of the son of Poseidon, and didn't want him hurt.

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

**I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

"**We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

'What is she talking about?' Athena thought, frustrated. She hated not knowing something.

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.** **Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on **_**Tom Sawyer **_**from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

'We love your son, Uncle P!' Apollo and Hermes shouted, trying to dissipate the tension. It worked somewhat. Poseidon grinned.

"**Well?" she demanded.**

"**Ma'am, I don't…"**

"**Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

'YOU SENT A FURY AFTER MY SON!' Poseidon yelled, lunging at Hades and pinning him to the ground. It took all the gods to pry him off. Annabeth was in a similar way, only not so noticeable. Poseidon's sisters smiled at him, thinking about his goodness as a father.

**Then things got even stranger.**

'How can things get stranger?' Leo wondered aloud.

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

"**What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

'_What ho_?' Annabeth asked Chiron, who just shrugged.

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

Annabeth and Poseidon sighed in relief.

'Riptide,' Percy said, removing his pen from his pocket and thumbing it. People (other than future people, except Jason, Piper and Leo, and Poseidon) stared at him in confusion.

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

'Drop the "honey" thing already,' Chris said, rubbing his head, while his girlfriend sat, her eyes sparkling at the action, her younger counterpart the same way.

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

'How is that natural?' asked Thalia. Percy shrugged.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. **_**Hisss!**_

People stared at Percy. How was he able to defeat a Fury without training? It was amazing. Jason, who was not that much in awe, rudely told Percy, 'A son of Poseidon would only compare everything to water.'

It wasn't much of an insult, but he put it condescendingly, like it was the worst thing in the world. Luke nodded, and Percy glared at both of them so hard, that their knees shook under them.

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

People shivered. That was just creepy.

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

'You're still being affected by the Mist,' Katie stated.

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

'You have really weird comparisons,' Annabeth said, kissing his cheek. Fortunately, this exchange went unnoticed by Athena, but not Aphrodite. She smiled devilishly.

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

'Who?' Poseidon asked, baffled.

**I said, "Who?"**

'Like father, like son,' Apollo said.

"**Our **_**teacher**_**. Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

'She was talking about the fact that you are very gullible by the Mist,' Nico smiled. Percy whacked him on the back of his head.

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

'Grover, you can't lie to save your life.' Percy deadpanned, and people burst into laughter.

"**Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

'What's got you so worked up?' Hera asked her husband, who shrugged.

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

'Now, Chiron, you can lie,' Hermes said approvingly. Chiron smiled.

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

"**Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

"**The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

'You can lie _really_ well,' Hermes said, completely impressed.

'Chapter over. Who reads next?' Athena asked, marking and closing the book. Poseidon held up his hand. 'I will.'

The book flew out of Athena's hands and into Poseidon's, who opened the correct page and started reading.

**This was one long chapter! I had taken my old chapter, rewrote it, and am posting it. Hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the delay!**

**Yours truly,**

**Stella**


	3. I See Socks of Death Being Knitted

**I love you all. I didn't receive all that many reviews (if you call five "not too many"), and I've been posed a couple of questions which I want to clear up. I have been asked these questions by the following people:**

**MiSaNaHyu**** – ****Why the gods did not know that Percy is Poseidon's son which he proudly announced in your prologue and why Athena and Poseidon did not know their children's relationship when it was clearly part of their introductions. They have also asked me if Nico will have a chance to explain his position.**

**To answer you, the gods were getting tired of the introductions, and they were losing attention by the time we arrived to Percy. They only got a shock alert when he mentioned the main things he did. Athena and Poseidon do know their kids' relationship, but Athena feels like spontaneously combusting Percy, which is why the couple is thankful that she did not spot them kissing. Poseidon is more okay with it because he puts his son's happiness before his expectations. Yes, Nico will have a chance to explain himself after reading the fifth chapter, because that's when the break will be. Also, Jason is OOC, because I'm portraying him as this jealous fellow who just can't get over the fact that someone's better than him. I always hated Jason because Percy vanished as he appeared. But that's my personal opinion. I'll try to lower the OOCness.**

**To ****Perseus Jackson Rules**** – Yes, Katie, Rachel and Percy are like siblings. He thinks of them as his sisters – actually, he thinks all the girls there (except Annabeth) as his siblings. Sorry about there being no Pothena, I think of them as grown-up Percabeth too, but I feel like it makes Percy and Annabeth – incest. I do **_**not**_** want that to happen. Athena wasn't paying a lot of attention, but when Annabeth says that something was stolen, she'll connect the dots and get what's happening.**

**To ****allen r**** – Percy's different glares include the one you mentioned as "you mess with my friends and I'll kill you" – something along the lines of that. Thank you, and I'll try to add more fluff.**

**I would also like to thank all the people who've taken the effort to review, favorite or follow this story, and favorite and follow me. Thanks to all of you. Enjoy!**

_**Third Person's POV**_

'**Chapter 2: Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death**,'read Poseidon.

Annabeth's eyes widened. What could that mean _now_? Was Percy in danger? She didn't know how she would handle it if more danger befell him.

**I was used to the occasional weird experience,**

'You were?' Leo asked. 'I never was, and I never will be.'

**but usually they were over quickly.** **This twenty four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me.** **The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our maths teacher since Christmas.**

'I hate it when stuff like that happens,' Chris groaned. When people stared at him, he exclaimed, 'I had a life before I knew of my heritage, alright?'

They all turned away.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

'You are psycho,' Thalia snorted.

**It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

**Almost.**

'Bet you 50 drachmas that it was Grover who let the secret out.' Apollo whispered to Hermes.

Hermes shook his head and said, 'No way, I may not be a genius, but even I know that it's Grover.'

Apollo pouted.

**But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

'Everyone knew he was lying,' Annabeth deadpanned. Jason added, 'Are you so oblivious that you can't recognize a person – sorry, satyr – who can't lie well?'

Grover, Annabeth and Thalia grew red – Grover with embarrassment, and the other two with anger. Grover didn't want to be reminded of the fact that he couldn't lie well, Annabeth thought that Jason was going too far, and Thalia couldn't believe that this was her little brother who was making these comments.

'_You are going too far_!' Annabeth yelled, shooting to her feet while Percy tried to tug her down. 'Percy is _much_ better than you _ever_ will be! There's a reason why I _never_ trusted you, and _never_ will! What did Percy _do_ to you? What's your problem?'

Percy managed to pull her down and started to mutter quiet nothings in her ear to calm her down. Thalia took over from her, tears streaming down her face, which shocked everyone. Thalia _never_ cried.

'What happened to my small sweet brother who wanted to eat a stapler? The one who used to cry whenever Mom used to pick him up? The one who used to run to me the moment I used to come from school? Who is this horrible boy who has taken his place? Did the Romans change you this much?' Thalia cried. Reyna stood up **(AN – I'd forgotten about her)** and said, 'Jason, figure out your problem, and only _then_ talk. I don't know what the matter with you is. And Thalia, we didn't change him. He changed himself.'

She said the last part to the distraught sister in a kind voice. Jason felt sad that he reduced his sister to tears, but felt another flare of jealousy when he saw Percy comforting her. Poseidon awkwardly cleared his throat and continued reading as his son continued to comfort his two girls, Nico being too afraid he'd get shaken off.

**Something was going on. Something **_**had **_**happened at the museum.**

Everyone was too scared to comment, but Travis, Connor, and their younger versions thought, _Yes it had, you battled a Fury, and lived to tell the tale, but it's just the Mist covering stuff up_.

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

All the demigods winced, knowing that it was exactly what happened after facing their first monster.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room.** **A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

'What's up with you two?' Hera studied Poseidon and Zeus. 'You both fight, but you have never fought this badly before.'

The two brothers just shrugged.

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time.** **My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

'That's horrible!' Athena and Annabeth said, appalled, the latter having recovered.

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. **

At that, Athena started laughing. Annabeth soon joined in after recovering from her shock. Percy looked confused, and seeing his look, Annabeth explained, 'It means an old drunk.'

The occupants of the throne room burst out laughing.

**I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.**

'Momma's boy,' Ares laughed. He got doused in water head to toe. Nico, Jason and Luke did too, because they had started snickering.

'You would be too, if you had my mother,' Percy said, reclining back, arm around Annabeth's waist.

'Aunt Sally's Boy,' he added to Nico who looked like he'd just stepped out of the Pacific. He scowled.

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

**And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The **_**view **_**of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance,**

'Don't tell me you'll miss the river,' Annabeth said in an _I don't believe you_ voice.

**the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, **

'Thanks,' Grover smiled.

**even if he was a little strange. **

The smile vanished.

**I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

'That's sweet of you, worrying about your friend,' Artemis smiled at Percy, while all the other people looked shocked that Artemis actually praised a _boy_. Percy grinned back, looking unsurprised. 'Thank you, and I think you are too harsh on your brother. He just wants to be your brother, you know – a good one.'

Artemis looked stunned, but when she looked at Apollo, she saw him smiling with gratitude at Percy. She could _feel_ her love for the twin grow and her relationship with her brother strengthen. Artemis smiled at her brother, while others watched gob smacked. Percy had managed to cure a millena-old fight in a matter of seconds. He was truly a miracle worker. Maybe he'd even stop the Athena-Poseidon feud.

**I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

'I hardly know you but I know you have done well already,' Chiron told Percy, who beamed back.

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

'Good thing,' Poseidon said.

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the **_**Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology **_**across my dorm room.**

'How can you throw books?' Athena inquired with a horrified expression on her face. Annabeth smacked her boyfriend's chest. Percy pouted.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces.**

'I think you know it now, don't you?' Annabeth asked Percy. He smiled and nodded. Poseidon and Athena looked at them with terrified looks.

'What happened? How do you know the difference?' Athena asked fearfully. Poseidon nodded furiously.

'You'll see,' the two demigods chorused.

**And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

'They're easy,' Frank dismissed. Annabeth smiled at him and said, 'To Romans. We Greeks are easier with Ancient Greek.'

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

Nico shuddered, knowing what it felt like, curtsy of the Stolls.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. **_**I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**_

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

'At least he picked up the book, Mom,' Annabeth tried to console her mother, who still looked horrified. Annabeth slapped Percy on the chest again.

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

'Teacher's pet,' Annabeth coughed and burst into laughter. Everyone except Athena joined; she thought a teacher's pet was good. Maybe Annabeth chose a good boy, even if he threw books.

'You are too,' Percy told Annabeth, who's giggles stopped immediately.

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said**_**"...**_**worried about Percy, sir."**

**I froze.**

'Do you eavesdrop often?' Hermes asked, eagerly. Percy gestured to the book.

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

'Okay, that is one dare I will lose,' Nico said as Hermes slumped in his seat.

**I inched closer.**

**"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the **_**school**_**! Now that we know for sure, and **_**they **_**know too—"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

'We are still waiting for him to do that,' Thalia said mournfully while Nico snickered beside her.

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline—**_**"**_

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he **_**saw **_**her..."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

'Partly,' Percy shrugged.

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion.**

'Grover, I told you not to beat yourself up over that particular incident!' Thalia scolded, all traces of humor gone. Grover nodded fearfully. Zeus looked mutinous.

**"You know what that would mean."**

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

'Not the best thing you want to hear,' Apollo said.

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

Hermes groaned, 'Never give away your position!'

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

'At least you safeguarded your position!' Hermes muttered.

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

'Why would you be out in his real form surrounded by mortals?' Athena asked Chiron.

Grover said, 'He thought there was a monster around. Needed to work fast if that was the case.'

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow **_**clop-clop-clop, **_**like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

'Why couldn't you smell to check if Percy was nearby?' Will asked Grover.

'His scent was all over the school; I couldn't tell if he was nearby or not,' Grover shrugged.

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me."**

'Yeah, don't,' Grover groaned. **(AN – Hey, that rhymed!)** 'I spent about six years giving the same exams!'

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

'Ten minutes in an ADHD person's life, then,' Percy shrugged.

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

'No it's not,' Percy said glumly. 'I just heard my best friend and my favorite teacher talking about me behind my back.'

**"Just... tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

'He can read your emotions,' Dionysus said lazily, turning a page in his wine magazine. People were shocked that he was actually paying attention.

'Oh, so that was what happened! I couldn't understand what you were upset about!' Grover exclaimed. To the questioning glances, he said,'I could read his emotions all right, but all I could understand was that he was sad and upset.'

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole** **thing.**

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

'You are,' Annabeth informed her boyfriend.

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, **

Annabeth gasped, 'Okay, I like exams, but even for me three hours is just torture!' The demigods nodded in agreement.

**my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

'Wonder what he wants,' Piper said thoughtfully.

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

'I doubt Chiron knows to this date,' Grover said.

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."**

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

'Now I am just going to kill this girl.' Thalia growled. 'Only I am allowed to annoy Percy.'

Nico nodded his agreement. Annabeth narrowed her eyes at the book.

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

**My eyes stung.**

'Wimp!' Ares laughed. He got doused in water by the sea-people.

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

'Chiron really sucks at pep talks, doesn't he?' asked Hermes. The demigods nodded while Chiron blushed.

**"Right," I said, trembling.**

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal,** **Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

'Great, Chiron, you've done it,' Annabeth shook her head.

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.**

**"Percy—"**

**But I was already gone.**

Percy smiled sadly, remembering how many times he'd done that.

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were **_**rich **_**juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities.**

'But your father is a god!' Poseidon said smugly.

**I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

'Ha ha, he thinks that his father is a nobody! Poseidon may be, boy, but your uncle sure isn't!' Zeus laughed.

Poseidon laughed too. 'He said _family_ of nobodies!' Zeus shut up.

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

'That's nice of them,' Hazel smiled.

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

'That's so sad!' Rachel and Aphrodite said in unison. They looked at each other weirdly as the others laughed.

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

'I take it back,' the daughter of Pluto muttered.

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to, was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

'What a coincidence,' Nico snorted.

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

'Nearly gave me a heart attack,' Grover muttered. Percy shot him an apologetic smile as everyone else laughed.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.****Grover's eye twitched. "How much **_**did **_**you hear?"**

**"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

'So basically – everything,' Leo summed up.

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ..."**

**"Grover—"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

'Truer words have never been spoken,' the two sets of Stoll twins said together.

**His ears turned pink. From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes,**

'Why did you have it made like that? They are dyslexic!' Athena frowned.

Dionysus shrugged and smiled evilly. 'I just like to see them suffer.'

**but I finally made out something like:**

_**Grover Underwood**_

_**Keeper**_

_**Half-Blood Hill**_

_**Long Island, New York**_

_**(800) 009-0009**_

**"What's Half—?"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

'What's wrong with that?' Thalia asked her cousin. Percy shrugged. It used to be a sore spot for him.

**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or ... or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

'Ouch, that's harsh!' Nico mock-winced.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

'Good,' Hera frowned.

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me.**

'You lost sleep over me?' an astonished Grover asked. Percy shrugged while almost all females cooed (minus Athena, her daughter and Thalia).

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended **_**me.**_

**"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

'Monsters, nothing usual,' Nico smiled.

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

'How'd you limp a _bus_?' Chris asked. Everyone shrugged.

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there.**

**On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

'Fruit!' Demeter perked up.

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice**_**. **_**There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

Poseidon and Annabeth paled.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

Thalia and Nico paled too.

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses. ****The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

Everyone else realized the meaning of it, and paled (except for people who didn't care).

'The Fates,' Thalia whispered while everyone looked wide-eyed at Percy. _How_ did he survive this?

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

Everyone was too nervous to laugh.

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

'Not the time to joke, Percy,' Hermes whispered. He didn't want his new friend to die.

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

'Better slightly burned than killed. Go!' Poseidon cried.

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

'No!' Annabeth cried.

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that **_**snip **_**across four lanes of traffic.**

Everybody (need I tell you who did not do that?) caught their breath.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

Few people gave nervous chuckles. Leave it to Percy to alleviate the tension.

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

'Of course it does now!' Poseidon said shakily.

**The passengers cheered.**

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

All the people in the room (without the Obvious) turned white, and Percy sent them a look that said, _I'm right here_.

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

'Everything.'

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

'Much worse, my hero, much worse,' Hestia said, surprising everyone. She had just been sitting quietly, tending the hearth.

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

Annabeth gulped.

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.**

'You're really very observant,' Athena said, shaken.

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

'It is,' Poseidon said.

**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

Thalia was too scared to comment.

"**He was really starting to freak me out" said Percy.**

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

'Some promise,' Grover muttered. The people who heard gave him strange looks.

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

'Yes,' Nico gulped.

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

'Way to scare me, Grover!' Percy said, trying to get rid of the ever-present tension. Needless to say, it did not work.

'Who'll read?' Poseidon asked, scared, marking and closing the book.

'I – I will!' Annabeth said. The book flew to her hands and she opened it to the marked page, cleared her throat and started reading to the stuffy silence.

**Sorry for the delay guys, but I have to tell you guys something. I'm sorry, but I have way too much on my hands, so I can't write all my stories at the same time. I have decided to put a poll on my profile, and whoever wants to vote can do so. Basically, which story I should work on first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth. There's this one, one in which the future demigod kids go to the past (Past, Here We Come!), a rewrite of a story called 'Mark of Athena Goes Haywire', one in which the gods and some demigods study in High School (High School with a Twist), my House of Hades, and another one in which Harry Potter's parents come back to life. Vote soon, because I will put up one update on all stories except for the rewrite and the Harry Potter one; I'm going to wait to start a new story. This is the last update for this story until the results come out. I'll be opening this poll this Sunday, and will be closing it a month later. I might update all my stories by one chapter during the month. Ciao!**

**Yours truly,**

**Stella**


	4. Where are the Pants?

'**Chapter 3: Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants**,' Annabeth read, and looked up to see Grover blushing madly.

'It's not how you think it is!' Grover yelped at the Stoll brothers, Apollo and Hermes, who were sniggering behind their hands. Percy went red too.

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

'Percy,' Poseidon groaned, looking freaked out.

'Sorry Dad,' Percy said sheepishly. 'Grover was freaking me out.'

'It would have freaked me too,' Apollo said solemnly, nodding. For once, no one disagreed, though Artemis looked like she wished she could.

**I know, I know. It was rude.** **But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, **

The throne room filled up with laughter, and Grover looked like an interbreed of cherries and tomatoes.

**so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom.**

**Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

'I thought I had lost you!' Grover huffed at his best friend, who looked uncomfortable and turned away.

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

'A word to describe Sally would be, um…amazing!' Thalia said after long thought. (Sally had forced all the demigods to call her by her name, and not Ms Jackson or Mrs Blofis. In fact, many of them treated her as their second mother.)

'Lovely,' Annabeth said a second after Thalia.

'Beautiful,' Percy and Poseidon said in unison, then grinned at each other.

'Best Cooker in the world!' Nico piped up with a dreamy look on his face.

'Death Breath!' Thalia said, smacking his head. 'That wasn't one word!'

'And Sally is a _cook_, not a pressure cooker,' Annabeth said, trying to control her laughter, but was unsuccessful. Everyone else laughed at Nico's expense too. Said boy was the color of Apollo's sacred cows. The others who were going to continue after Nico, stopped at his expense.

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world,**

Percy and Poseidon nodded.

**which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

Everyone frowned, but all who had met her (basically, the Futures, as everyone had taken to calling them, minus Jason, Piper and Leo, and Poseidon) had dark looks on their faces.

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist,**

'She did?' Athena asked, astonished.

Percy nodded. Athena said, 'Well then, how can such a noble woman fall in love with Barnacle Beard?' She jerked her head towards Poseidon, who just ignored her.

**so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

'I will help her on in her career,' Athena vowed. Percy smiled, 'Thank you, Athena.'

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

'Aww,' all the goddesses (minus Athena and Artemis) cooed, the loudest being Aphrodite.

**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.**

'You visited him?' Zeus boomed, pointing his master bolt at Poseidon. Poseidon, to his credit, held his ground.

'So what if I did?' he asked loudly. The other demigods were jealous that Percy got so much attention from his father, while the other gods were guilty that they never took such measures to visit their children.

Annabeth hurriedly continued reading when Poseidon pulled out his trident, to stop the fight before it started.

**My mom doesn't like to talk about him because **_**it **_**makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

'Wow!' Hermes exclaimed. 'That's a lie, but not a lie. Wow!'

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

'Be sure about that, bro!' Nico grinned. Percy stuck out his tongue at Nico while the demigods laughed, Jason and Luke more cruelly.

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him,**

Annabeth clenched her fists. Percy wrapped his arm around her and gave her a quick peck on the lips. This gesture did not go unnoticed by the gods; Athena clenched _her _fists, Poseidon shook his head, and Aphrodite squealed, mentally patting her back. _Nice job, total Romeo-Juliet setting_, she thought.

**then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nick named him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

'Eew!' all the people in the room exclaimed. The females looked slightly green in the face, while the males all looked extremely disgusted.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.**

Poseidon's eyes narrowed slightly.

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

All the female occupants wrinkled their noses, the green in their face slightly more pronounced, and the males looked disgusted. Annabeth leaned up and whispered in Percy's ear, 'How did you manage to stay in that dump?'

Percy just kissed her in response, and they continued doing so, until someone coughed and they broke apart, both blushing furiously. Athena seemed to be the one who coughed, and she glared at them, saying, 'You two, me, Poseidon – we are going to talk after this chapter.'

The two exchanged panicked looks behind their parents' backs, while Jason and Luke smiled; Jason because Percy fell in trouble, and Luke because he was jealous of Percy.

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

'He asked you for cash?' Thalia, asked disgustedly.

'No welcome back? How was your life? It was nice to see you again?' Katie fumed. After all, she regarded Percy as her brother and her brother was treated like this?

Annabeth too was fuming, but when she saw the next line, all traces of anger left her face and she blinked. Knowing what he had thought next, Percy blinked too.

**That was it. No **_**Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**_

Katie blinked too.

Hades snorted. 'From what I've heard about him, I'd be highly surprised if he said that.'

Everyone jumped. They had forgotten Hades was present.

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

Aphrodite squealed in disgust, and the other females gagged. Annabeth and Thalia looked sick. Their respective boyfriends pecked their cheeks, while the girls' mother/father glared at the boys.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

Annabeth and Poseidon growled.

**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

Silena gagged involuntarily. Beckendorf patted her back.

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

'Accurate,' Grover snorted.

Athena's eyes narrowed. Was this lady trying to do what Athena thought she was? _If she is, she must be extremely intelligent_, Athena thought grudgingly.

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. **

'At least there's someone with manners,' ClJ muttered. Having not muttered as quietly as she had thought, she was surprised to see looks being thrown at her.

'What?' she asked, throwing glares at everyone. They turned away immediately. 'I have a heart, alright?'

**"Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

**"Am I **_**right**_**?**_**"**_**Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

'I take my word back,' ClJ said, looking disgusted. Silena gagged again, looking sick. The other female demigods looked like they'd need a sink very soon.

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

'Done, done and done,' Dionysus said, smiling evilly.

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study."**

'What'd he study?' Rachel asked disgusted. Lee nodded, having thought of a horrible thing.

'The only thing I can imagine him study is tricks to win poker,' he said. Will nodded to his brother.

**He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

'How did you stay there?' asked Thalia, while trying not to get sick. Percy, looking disgusted, said, 'I didn't, I only went home at night. The rest of the time I spent outside.'

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

'Sarcasm in my thing, not yours!' Clarisse said to Percy, who shrugged.

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds,** **or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

'That bad, huh?' Annabeth questioned, her arm around Percy's waist, and vice–versa. He just leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips.

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

AJ, knowing the life of a demigod, felt slightly sorry for the son of Poseidon.

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

'Momma's boy,' Will snickered. He got drenched.

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room.**

'That's the way it's supposed to be,' Hera nodded in approval, while giving a reproachful look to her sons, who rolled their eyes.

**Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad.**

'Your mother is much better than mine was,' Hazel told Percy, who nodded. He knew he was lucky.

**I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

'And that sure must be something,' Annabeth joked. Percy pouted, and Annabeth gave him a peck on the cheek.

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

'You are so lucky that you get those,' Hermes said enviously. Apollo, his two sons and their future versions nodded.

'Um… can't you just steal some?' Chris asked his father. He regretted it when everyone directed him with glares and the people who he spoke to lit up, and sat down to scheme.

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

All the goddesses cooed.

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

'Boys,' Artemis rolled her eyes, but she was surprised that a boy actually loved his mother. This made her think that boys weren't so bad – at least, not ones like Percy Jackson.

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"**

**I gritted my teeth.**

As did most people in the room.

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

'Paul may not be a millionaire, but I think she's happy with him,' Nico said. Percy nodded.

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself.**

Annabeth and Thalia rolled their eyes.

**I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

**Until that trip to the museum...**

Frank shuddered. He was surprised his friend had dealt with so much when he was a kid.

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

'Don't lie!' Hera shouted.

**"No, Mom."**

**I felt bad lying. **

'As you should.' Hera muttered.

**I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

'It wouldn't to her,' Nico said, trying to sound wise. He failed miserably.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

'That would be because she trusts you,' Reyna told the son of Poseidon. 'You just seem like someone you can trust.'

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

Poseidon's face lit up as he thought of his memories of Montauk.

**"Three nights—same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

Everyone in the throne room (minus the Jealous Two) growled.

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

'Hades,' Poseidon said fake-sweetly. 'Please send this – _man_ – to the Fields of Punishment.'

Hades smiled evilly. 'I already have listed him for there, little brother. I already have.'

**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

'That's awesome!'

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

'He better!' Poseidon threatened.

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your step father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

'Bribery. I like her,' Hermes approved.

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

'You can't put a budget on clothes!' Aphrodite shrieked.

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

Percy and Grover started snickering, knowing the fate of the car, while the others were left to wonder what was so funny.

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

'DO IT!' almost everybody screamed.

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

'It was all for you,' Grover muttered. Athena, who happened to have sharp ears, looked at him, eyes narrowed. _Does it mean what I think it does?_

**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

'He doesn't even have a brain,' Athena, Annabeth, Poseidon, Thalia and Nico scoffed.

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

'He's so stupid,' Hazel said incredulously. Frank roared beside her.

**He went back to his game.**

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

'She knew?' Grover asked Percy.

'Mothers know everything,' Hera said, wisely.

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

Annabeth's eyes widened.

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

'Why, oh _why_? That's a waste of perfectly good dip!'

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

'That's not too soon,' Poseidon grumbled.

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.**

'He cares about his _idiotic_ car and Sally's _cooking_ than the lady and her son themselves?' Thalia said, eyes wide with shock.

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

'Like you'd be the one driving,' Annabeth and Poseidon scoffed.

**Like I'd be the one driving.**

People started laughing.

**I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

'And _how_, exactly, would he do that?' Annabeth asked in a dangerous voice.

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain.**

'What did you do?' asked Lee, rubbing his hands and leaning forward.

**As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the stair case as if he'd been shot from a cannon.**

Jaws that were dropped a minute ago were turned to face Percy. He just shrugged and held up his hands. 'I don't know how I did it.'

_He's powerful_, Zeus thought. _Should he be the prophecy child? He is firmly on our side, it seems. We shall see…_

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

'Should have seen his face!' Nico whined.

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

'My favorite kind of driving!' Ares said.

'Yeah, one which lands me with his bike once a week,' Hephaestus muttered under his breath.

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets,**

Annabeth and Athena shuddered.

**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in. I loved the place.**

'Of course you did,' Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

'Awwwww,' Aphrodite cooed.

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

Poseidon smiled. Her eyes were one of the many things that made her Sally Jackson, and those were the features that he loved the most.

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine.**

'And how much time did it take, exactly?' Annabeth asked Percy. He refrained from answering.

**We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

'What's up with the blue food?' asked Apollo.

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

'Er…'

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

'You don't have a rebellious streak, Percy. If you have a streak it's an obedient one.' Annabeth rolled her eyes.

'If I had not been rebellious, you all would not be here,' Percy shot back.

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

'I like this lady,' Athena said approvingly.

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

Poseidon grinned at Percy, who grinned back.

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

Hazel looked at Percy, then Poseidon, then back again. 'You know, you really do look like him.'

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

'I am!' Poseidon exclaimed.

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

'Those aren't the things that define you Percy. It's your heroic qualities.'

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

Even Aphrodite knew that it wasn't the time to make any sound.

**"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

'I _told_ her that she was expecting. And of course I had to leave before you were born!' Poseidon exclaimed.

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

'Thanks for visiting me, Dad,' Percy told his father.

**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me...**

'That hurts,' Frank winced.

**I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

'I'm really sorry about it,' Poseidon said, honestly.

Percy grinned at his father and said, 'No sweat, Dad.'

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

'Love them,' Leo said.

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?"**

'Percy!'

**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

'You should!' Thalia and Annabeth screamed.

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I—I **_**have **_**to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

'Good thing you're not,' Nico said, wiping his brow in an over-exaggerated manner. 'Gods know where the world would be if you were _normal_.'

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"**

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

'What?' Leo asked eagerly.

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

'I sent the Cyclopes to check on Percy,' Poseidon replied to the questioning glances thrown his way.

**Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

Everyone looked at Percy in awe.

'How did you do that?'

'… I actually have no clue.'

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

'That's sad,' Thalia commented.

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

'You value your trip more than your life?' Annabeth asked incredulously.

'I didn't know that my life was in danger back then, and I got very less time with my Mom,' Percy protested. Even Annabeth couldn't argue with his logic.

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

'The best Camp in the world!' Connor and Travis sang.

'I may have to disagree with you on that,' Reyna said, standing up.

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

'To keep you safe. Duh, Seaweed Brain,' Annabeth rolled her eyes.

'I didn't know that back then. Duh, Wise Girl,' Percy shot back.

Annabeth looked at him with newfound interest. 'You're better at this sort of thing.'

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

'Such a lovely mother,' Hazel said, wiping her eyes. She wanted a chance to live a lovely life with her mother.

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

'I hate your dreams!' Nico groaned.

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.**

Poseidon and Zeus started a staring contest to see who would win.

**The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

The staring contest stopped and they exchanged looks with Hades. It better not be who they thought it was…

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed,**___**No!**_

'I win!' Zeus shouted. He got blasted with water. Hades started snickering.

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

'What's made you this mad?' Hera asked her husband and brother.

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. **

'Yes Uncle P, how could you forget?' Apollo joked. Artemis shushed him; she realized that it was no time to joke.

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

Annabeth paled.

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.**

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

'He wasn't,' Annabeth said, glaring at Percy.

**My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

_**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" **_**he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you **_**tell **_**her?"**

'No! He's an idiot!'

'I repeat, _again_, that I DIDN'T KNOW!'

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—and where his legs should be ... where his legs should be...**

'Get on with it!' Nico screamed. Percy turned his head slowly to stare at his cousin, as did everyone else.

'You already know that he has goat legs,' Percy told him. Nico blushed a bright red.

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before:**_**"Percy. **_**Tell me **_**now**_**!"**

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

'Of course! She was just told that the death of her son was predicted by the _Three Fates_, no less!'

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. **_**Go**_**!**_**"**_

**Grover ran for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.**

'Finally!' Nico said. People turned to stare at him again.

'Who's reading next?' Annabeth asked, marking and closing the book.

'I will!' Hestia said. Everyone jumped, Hestia had been so quiet, everyone forgot she was there. She had quietly been tending the hearth. The book flew into Hestia's hand, and she opened the correct page and started reading.

**Thank you for your support guys! Now, this story is the most voted for in the poll, but please, check out my stories and the new one's summaries, and tell me which should I go forward with.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Stella**


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